Shen Jia turned around and found that it was Wang Dahua, a young woman who had ranked second in the last assessment. Perhaps for some reason, she took the initiative to request to take charge of the affairs of the fertilizer workshop. After all, it sounded like a completely unfamiliar thing, and there were really not many people willing to take the initiative to be the manager, not to mention that her score was so high?
She looked at Wang Dahua who was rushing towards her and asked, "Is there something important you want to tell me?"
Wang Dahua wiped the sweat from her forehead from jogging, tried to calm her excited breathing, and replied:
"Boss, we've already started mixing bean dregs with some soil, leaves, and sawdust. Maybe it's showing results these past couple of days, or something else. There's been a lingering smell in the workshop, so I thought it would be best if you didn't go in."
Shen Jia laughed and said, "Is that why you called me to stop urgently?"
Wang Dahua nodded embarrassedly. They were all rough people working there, and some strange smells could not interfere with their actions at all. But she was not sure about a young lady like Shen Jia.
"Don't worry about that. I came up with this method myself, and I need to personally see how it turns out. Are you still reading the booklet I gave you earlier? If you don't understand anything, just ask Miss Chen Yue. If any bugs appear, be sure to spread the things I told you to."
"Yes, Boss, how about I take you to have a look?"
"Let's go."
Another advantage of building this workshop far away is that it is quite close to the mountains that they bought, which makes it very convenient for employees to go out to dig soil and come back every day.
So here, besides seeing people pushing bean dregs with carts, the most common people you see are probably people pushing soil and other ingredients.
Piles of soil, sawdust, leaves and bean dregs are mixed into large pits paved with stone slabs. Now all everyone can do is wait for time to ferment.
Once the mixture returns to normal temperature and has no odor, you're done.
Walking along the path led by Wang Dahua, Shen Jia could see large pits that were about to be filled. Now she herself was a little worried. What if the output was too high and could not be consumed in time?
After visiting her three new workshops, Shen Jia returned to the Shen’s Tofu Workshop office, which was still her base.
As soon as I arrived, I heard Shen Yue wailing, "Sister, you don't know that some people are really not good at studying. No matter how I teach or what I say, they still don't know anything when I ask them the next day.
I feel like I've been putting more effort into this little class lately than trying to make tofu. If my dad used to call me a stupid cow, I could have just given it to someone else."
Shen Jia was not surprised to hear this, but she was still relatively easy to teach adults. If she encountered children, that would be the most painful teaching in life.
Hearing this, she asked in return, "Isn't there anyone among your students who learns quickly?"
When asked this, Chen Yue immediately became happy and said with a pout, "Of course there is, especially that Li Chun that Fuqiu mentioned last time. She is even better than me in reading and calligraphy. I think it won't be long before I can't teach her anything.
Besides her, there are many young girls who also love to read and practice calligraphy. The rest are women and men. Generally speaking, I think their future is no worse than those who study in the academy. If they hadn't had the opportunity before, they might have achieved fame and honor now. It's a pity that women can't take the imperial examinations."
At the end of the story, Shen Yue herself became melancholy. She herself had no talent for studying. Compared with studying, she preferred wielding swords and sticks. She had not been able to do so before because her mother had stopped her. Now it was too late and her physical foundation was not good enough.
It’s nothing like the students I’m teaching now. They are all very talented, but unfortunately they don’t have the conditions. Women are even more demanding and don’t have any chances at all.
Being able to apply the knowledge they have learned in the workshop is already a good career path for them.
Shen Jia hadn't expected that Shen Yue could actually say such a thing now, but when he thought about how she had always been considered a heretic by the scholars in her family, saying such a thing was in line with her character.
"There's no need to teach such a deep level right now. It wouldn't be easy for you to teach a scholar with your knowledge."
Shen Yue never expected that Shen Jia would tease her like this after she expressed her feelings, saying that she could not teach a scholar, and she immediately slammed her hand on the table.
"Sister, then I will let you see my ability. I don't believe that it would be difficult for a mere student like me."
Not only Shen Jia, but also Shen Ci and Fuqiu who were present also felt that Shen Yue had been provoked by something. Why did she suddenly say such a thing? Didn't Shen Jia mean to tell her not to be too ambitious?
First do the most basic things at hand, and think about other things later. Now it seems that Shen Yue is stimulated by this.
Shen Jia did not refute, but gave her a thumbs up, "I am optimistic about you."
At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the door. Shen Jia turned around and saw it was Ma Song. She asked, "Is there something wrong at home?"
"Miss, a distinguished guest has arrived. The old master wants you to go home first."
"Distinguished guest?"
The word "distinguished guest" popped up in Shen Jia's mind. Who did her family know who could be called this? In an instant, she immediately remembered what she and County Magistrate Wu had proposed, and said to the three people in the room:
"I have something to do, you three, watch over this place."
"Don't worry, we are here. Last time, Fuqiu didn't manage everything well by herself."
Shen Ci responded quickly. After all, the person who could be called a distinguished guest by his grandfather must be extraordinary. It would be impolite to let Shen Jia linger here any longer.
When Shen Jia heard what Shen Ci said, he almost twisted his foot. His elder brother could even make him angry now. His skills had improved.
As soon as Shen Jia, who had rushed home, entered the yard, he was led by Shen's mother to his grandfather's study. She explained: "Your grandfather and the county magistrate are inside. They are probably here to talk to you in detail about what happened last time. You must pay attention to the words you use, even though your grandfather is the teacher of County Magistrate Wu.
But now that our family has fallen on hard times, we can no longer withstand any more hardships. Don't make others angry, understand?"
"Mother, I understand. Don't worry. This matter is beneficial to me, Magistrate Wu, and the people of Linyuan County. How could there be any trouble? I'll go in first. Mother, you go back to your room and have a good rest."
The two of them slowly walked to the door of the study, and Shen Jia pushed Shen's mother out, vowing that he would never cause any trouble.
Mother Shen was still a little worried when she left. She looked back at Shen Jia every three steps. Shen Jia said, "Grandfather, your granddaughter is back."
Shen Yan's voice came from inside, "Come in."
Upon entering the room, Shen Jia bowed first, "Grandfather, how are you? Magistrate Wu, how are you?"
"Please stand up, niece. I'm here today to discuss the matter you mentioned last time. After returning home, I carefully considered it with the yamen's legal advisors. I think your idea is very good, but you are also a businessman. In order to protect the interests of the people, you also need to make some guarantees."
"Of course. I wonder what your opinion is, uncle?"
"I've carefully reviewed the taxes you paid last year. Given your current size, the amount you need to pay each year is not low. Therefore, we'll have you advance a portion of the funds to the county government as your hard-earned money to pay the people if you breach the contract in the future."
"That's fine, but as one of the two parties to the transaction, I can't be bound by the contract alone. I can advance some funds as a guarantee against default, but I also have my own requirements."
"What do you think, niece? Although, as long as it is something we can do, I believe no one will disagree."
Seeing the two people gradually getting into a tit-for-tat situation, Chen Yan, who was standing by, coughed lightly and said, "You two don't have to be so anxious. It's still early. Let's have some tea first."
"Thank you, Grandfather."
After Shen Jia took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, he continued:
"I hope that the area I can participate in the planting for the first time is 10,000 mu. If it is too much, I am worried that I will not be able to use it all this year. This will also leave some room for me and the people who follow me to plant soybeans.
At the same time, those who want to participate must sign a contract to ensure that they are just ordinary farmers, and not some businessmen who take advantage of me.
The soybeans you plant must be collected from my warehouse. Since everyone has a say in the quality of grain, I will select the best soybeans from the purchased soybeans for planting to ensure quality. If someone substitutes fake soybeans during the autumn inspection, I will not tolerate it.
Besides that, the people only need to collect the soybean seeds, plant them, and then harvest them. All other processes will be handled by our Shen family. The price is also one cent per pound, which is higher than the current purchase price of our workshop."
After finishing speaking, Shen Jia felt that his throat was smoking, and he quickly drank the tea he had just poured down. Seeing that Shen Yan felt sorry for wasting his good tea, his admiration for his granddaughter was replaced by anger like a cow chewing a peony.
Wu Wei was almost overwhelmed by this series of contents. However, after thinking about it carefully, you will find that as long as the people who receive the share act in accordance with Shen Jia's words, it is easy for ordinary people to earn a few hundred coins a year.
Since that was the case, he did not refuse and said to Chen Yan:
"My niece is so thoughtful and meticulous that you and I can't match her. In that case, let's just establish our preliminary contract like this for now. Don't worry, I will definitely spread this matter from the county government to the towns below before the farming season arrives."
Shen Jia immediately stood up and bowed to Wu Wei again. "In this case, I would like to thank you, uncle. The people of Linyuan County are blessed to have you."
Who doesn’t like to hear nice words?
Even Wu Wei, who always prided himself on being honest, was no exception. What's more, this sentence was said to him by a junior whom he had high hopes for, so he immediately burst into laughter in the study.
"Hahahahaha! Niece, you are truly a person who cannot be underestimated."
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